What did I get myself into?
by wajag
Summary: HL/Pretender xover. Mr Lyle meets ROG, R for violence


Disclaimer: Highlander and Pretender don't belong to me. Characters from some of my earlier fan fiction stories drop in and out as it pleases them. This story takes place right after my fanfic Broken Promise. Fred Astaire, Nat King Cole, Zorro, also not mine, just used as skill barometers (heehee)  
Be advised, this story is more violent than my other fanfics. I guess I was a little bit angry when I wrote it...  
  
Methos stood in the theatre's brightly lit lobby and stared at the flamboyant movie poster. Action packed excitement and adventure it proclaimed. Amused, he munched on the popcorn he'd bought. He'd been in Europe when Conquerors Quest had opened. He'd only been back in Seacouver a couple of weeks. With time on his hands, he'd decided to see the movie. It was the first show of the day so there were very few people at the theatre.  
  
With a smile, Methos relived the months he'd spent working on the movie. Lost in his thoughts, he turned at a familiar voice calling his name. Lisa Weiss was walking towards him with a younger, familiar looking woman. "Lisa, How are you?" Methos said taking her into his arms and discretely looking at the other woman's wrists for Watcher tattoos.  
  
"I'm fine, when did you get back from Europe?" She asked after she kissed him. She smiled thinking that he was even more handsome than she remembered. There was an air of serenity about him that hadn't been there before he'd left for Europe (a family emergency he'd said).  
  
"A couple of weeks. I'm still adjusting to the time difference."  
  
The woman with Lisa cleared her throat. Lisa chuckled, "I'm sorry, this is my daughter Lavon. Lavon, this is Adam, we meet when I broke my arm on the plane to Hawaii." She said this without taking her attention off Adam. "We're taking a girls day off." At his confused look she continued, "You know, play hooky from work and school, doing the movie and lunch thing."  
  
Methos nodded, "Hello Lavon. Excuse me, but have we met? You look familiar."  
  
"Its good to see you again Professor, we wondered where you'd gone. I took one of your classes at the University. It was great!"  
  
"I remember now, Greek Influences in Today's World." Methos said.  
  
Lavon nodded, pleased that he'd recognized her and even remembered what class she'd taken. "History just hasn't been the same since you left."  
  
Methos grinned and said, "Just a sabbatical. I like to travel every few years, keeps me in touch with the rest of the world."  
  
"I was just telling Lavon that someone I knew had been in this movie. That's why we were coming to see it, and here you are standing in the lobby! Which movie are you here to see?"  
  
Smiling, Methos gestured at the poster. "I was in Europe when it released. I was curious at what they'd finally released. Cliff presented two versions."   
  
"Will you join us?" Lisa asked trying not to sound too obvious. "You can tell us what happened off camera while we wait for the movie."  
  
"If you're sure I won't be intruding."  
  
Both women cheerfully insisted they would enjoy his company. While they waited in their seats for the movie to start, Adam told them some of the unusual things that had happened while filming. They especially enjoyed his story about the battle scene where Roger Valentine the star, had knocked him out cold with a shield. They laughed even harder when he told them to watch for the barbarian dressed in furs to collapse in the big battle scene, Cliff had insisted on keeping that in the film. Roger's character was 'suppose' to take out the barbarians.  
  
Lisa and Lavon enjoyed the movie even more after having heard the insights and bloopers Adam had shared. After the movie they convinced him to join them for lunch at a nearby restaurant. Girl's day was more about playing hooky and not about being just for girls.  
  
They lingered several hours over lunch, laughing and telling stories. Lavon hadn't heard this many details about her mother's Hawaiian trip. She bumped her mom suggestively when she talked about seeing Adam surfing. Looking at her mother's expression Lavon was definitely reading more between the lines.  
  
Looking at his watch, Adam mentioned that he had to get going. Acting on impulse, he mentioned that he would be at a bar called Joe's Place later that evening if the Girl's day turned into a Girl's night. He picked up the lunch bill and left them laughing in the parking lot. He headed to MacLeod's dojo for a workout and the women walked to the nearby bookstore.  
  
"I didn't know the Professor was your Adam! All of us girls had such a crush on him. I'll bet he looks great in a swimsuit, how come you never showed me those pictures? He was the greatest professor, he made history come alive." Lavon said excitedly.  
  
"We mostly just talked about him being a doctor, fixing my broken arm and all. He didn't mention that he'd taught at the University but he did say he had several degrees. No surprise though, that man can do anything." Lisa said remembering a little lustfully all the things that he did incredibly well.  
  
"How 'bout we show up at Joe's Place this evening..."  
  
"Are you matchmaking?" Lisa said with a grin.  
  
"Do I need to?" Lavon smirked. Lisa just grinned and shook her head 'no'.  
  
  
*****  
Having the dojo to themselves, Methos and Mac worked out for several hours. Methos was very restrained in his fighting, still remembering the last time he'd sparred with Duncan. He'd been upset over the headhunters that had been stalking him, (courtesy of the Watchers!) and that the Watchers had put Lisa's address up on their database. Losing himself in the fight he had drawn Duncan's blood.  
  
"Methos, it's okay. That's over and done with. Will you at least let me break a sweat?" Duncan kidded.   
  
Methos shouldered his sword, his expression going blank. "Sorry Mac."  
  
"Don't be, slipping once is not falling." Duncan said trying to convince Methos that he trusted him.  
  
Methos shook his head and smiled. "Becoming a sage now are we?" Moving his sword into a ready position, they resumed sparring and this time, Duncan did break into a sweat. Duncan knew that Methos was still holding back but thought to himself, this was a step in the right direction. Jarod had said it would take time for Methos to feel comfortable around them again.  
  
  
*****  
A couple of hours later Methos walked into Joe's Place, grinning as Joe walked out of the office and caught him behind the bar grabbing a beer. Joe grumbled something about there not being any such thing as a bar 'leech' but was still glad to see him. After Methos had hunted Charles Auckland and his students down, Jarod had stopped by to say that Methos was worried about what that might have done to their friendship. He could understand why Methos had done what he'd done. He didn't necessarily agree with it, but he could understand it. Immortals were a law unto themselves and Methos was the oldest of them all, who's to say he hadn't made up the laws to begin with?  
  
Methos had only been back in town a very short time and they were doing everything that they could to act normal. Joe had been surprised and pleased that Methos cared enough to try and resume their friendship.  
  
He and Joe had been talking about an hour when Methos saw Lisa and Lavon walk in the door. He waved them over to the table that he and Joe had moved to. Wanting to let Joe know what they knew about him, Methos introduced them. "Joe, this is Lavon a former student of mine, and this is Lisa. You remember me mentioning her; we had dinner a few times before I went to Europe. We met on the plane to Hawaii."  
  
Joe shook their hands, very pleased to meet them. He was surprised that Methos had told them he'd be here this evening. Methos didn't normally volunteer information like that to just anyone. He asked them what they wanted to drink and headed to the bar to get it. He glanced back at the three comfortably talking and thought, that neither of the women knew he was Immortal. Thinking back, he remembered that Methos had stayed the night at Lisa's house. Something interesting must have happened in Hawaii if he was still seeing her back on his home turf. He'd have to ask Methos about that later. He grabbed their drinks and returned to the table with full intentions of digging information out of the women.  
  
"How long have you two known each other?" Lisa asked indicating Joe and Adam.   
  
Joe looked at Adam and grinned. "I met Adam when he was just an awkward, gangly grad student in Paris. The first time I saw him I thought he was a homeless person. He was dressing in jeans that had seen better days, a sweater that was too big for him and he definitely needed a hair cut!" Joe chuckled. "My best friend was his Mentor. It took Don awhile, but Adam cleaned up nice."  
  
"Adam awkward? I can't picture that!" Lisa laughed. "He dances like Fred Astaire, surfs like a native, rides horses and fences like Zorro, he can even sing like Nat King Cole..."  
  
"Dances? Sings?" Joe said looking at Methos. Methos seemed to sprawl a little bit more in his chair. (If such a thing were physically possible!)  
  
"He has a very lovely voice." Lisa said missing the look on Adam's face.  
  
"You sing." Joe restated still staring at Methos. Lisa looked at him in confusion.  
  
Rolling his eyes, Methos explained. "Joe's a very good musician, he plays several sets here every night. And he's never heard me sing." Methos looked everywhere but Joe's eyes. He wasn't going to admit that he'd serenaded Lisa on one of their dates. Changing the subject he said, "I talked to Seacouver University yesterday."  
  
"Are you going to teach there again?" Lavon said excited.  
  
"They have an opening starting next quarter. Cliff has another movie in negotiations but that won't be ready to start until next summer. This one is going to be a Roman Gladiator film. He wants me to help out again. He even promised that Roger wouldn't be the star!" Redirecting the conversation Methos told them more.  
  
  
*****  
Duncan felt an Immortal buzz as he reached the door of the bar. Guessing who it might be, he still scanned the interior of the bar to find the source of the buzz. Seeing Methos and Joe with two women he walked towards their table.  
  
Joe saw Methos' body tense for just a second and relax again. That could only mean that Duncan was here. He was still amazed that the two Immortals could recognize each other's Quickening. He'd done some checking and couldn't find any reference to it in the Archives. Joe and Methos greeted Duncan when he came in, and waved him over to meet the ladies.   
  
Duncan kissed the hand of each of the women as they were introduced. He was surprised to hear that Methos had invited them here. He put on his most charming smile and proceeded to coax information out of the women. Lisa caught on to what he was doing and laughed.   
  
"Wait a minute! Adam assured me that you would be listing his faults, not trying to get information out of me."  
  
Methos laughed at the look on Joe and Duncan's faces.  
  
"He's stubborn, arrogant, opinionated, grouchy..." Duncan started  
  
Not believing a word of it, Lisa laughed even harder. "Don't tell me then. Oh gosh, it's almost nine we'd better go. We have school and work tomorrow." Lisa said after looking at her watch.  
  
"Then I'd better walk you to your car." Adam said standing.  
  
Joe rolled his eyes at Duncan who smirked. "It was nice meeting you ladies." Joe said and Duncan echoed.  
  
Adam walked the women out to their car. He put his elbow out for Lavon to take, and his arm around Lisa's waist. Noting where Lisa's car was parked, Adam escorted them safely across the quiet street and stopped at the passenger door. "Lavon, it was nice to see you again, I hope I see you in one of my classes when I start back at the University."  
  
"You will Adam, you can count on that!" Lavon said enthusiastically. She couldn't wait to tell her friends that Dr. Pierson was dating her mom! Stepping back he opened the door for Lavon. When she was inside he walked with Lisa around to the driver's side.   
  
"Lisa, as always it was a pleasure to see you again." Pulling her closer he leaned in and kissed her, feathery, light kisses. When he had her distracted, he sighed and stepped back with a smile. He opened her car door and she got in. Carefully closing her door, he waved at them. Lisa started up the car and with a wave, pulled out into the empty road. Methos walked back across the street. He stopped on the curb outside of Joe's and looked down the street where Lisa had stopped at the stop sign.  
  
"Hold on a minute mom, I want to call Deb and tell her that we're on our way." Digging in her purse Lavon pulled out her cell phone.  
  
Lisa looked in the rear view mirror, looking at Adam still standing on the curb. She smiled feeling really happy. It was a good sign that Adam had introduced her to his friends. His friends acted like this was unusual for him. That must mean he thought she was special. She wanted to be very special in his eyes. She liked his friends too. They obviously respected him and were intelligent and friendly people. Yep, she was feeling pretty damn happy. A movement in the rear view mirror caught her eye and she focused all of her attention on it.   
  
As Adam looked towards her car, a black van screeched to a halt beside him. A black man in a dark suit jumped out and fired a gun at Adam, as he turned toward the movement and noise. "Oh No! Please No!" Lisa cried as she watched Adam fall to the ground.  
  
She turned around to look out the window directly. "Oh No! Call 911!" She screamed.  
  
"What Mom? What is it?" As Lavon asked this, the man dragged Adam into the van and jumped in after him. The van squealed away from the bar.  
  
"A man just shot Adam and dragged him into that van! Call 911!" The van 'U' turned in the road and sped off in the other direction. Lisa put her car into gear and did a U-turn to try and catch the van. By the time she had competed her turn, the van was out of sight. "Did you see where it went?"  
  
"No I was dialing!" Lavon shouted with tears in her voice.  
  
Lisa pulled up in front of Joes, putting the car into park she jumped out and raced into the bar. Joe and Duncan were still sitting where they had left them. Duncan noticed her running towards them and jumped up. "What's wrong? Where's Adam?"  
  
Sobbing, Lisa grabbed Duncan's arm. "A man in a black van shot him, they took him!"   
  
Duncan ran out of the bar. Joe stood and grabbing Lisa's arm, tried to calm her enough to get more information. "Tell me what happened."  
  
Lisa told him, with Joe interrupting occasionally to ask for more details. Duncan came back in with Lavon. He shook his head 'No'. Joe got a very sick feeling in his stomach. While Lavon was comforting her mother, Joe spoke to Duncan.  
  
"They seemed to be waiting for him specifically. He didn't feel them coming so they weren't Immortals." Joe whispered.  
  
"Could they have been Watchers?" Duncan asked with a hard look at Joe.  
  
"I don't know, I'll go and get the Watchers on alert. Make everyone report in. I don't know if he's ready for something like this..."  
  
"After what he did to Auckland, we have to believe he's tougher than he looks. I'll wait with Lisa and Lavon. Lavon called 911 before I could stop her." Duncan said, although Joe knew that he would rather be out on the street searching. Joe headed for his office with the feeling that he wouldn't be getting much sleep for a while.  
  
  
*****  
When Methos woke up he was in a moving vehicle. Not fully cognizant yet, he moved and felt restraints on his wrists and ankles. Alarmed, he tried to roll into an attack or defense position but he couldn't move his hands above his waist. He was wearing prisoner transport chains that were looped through a chain at his waist. Fully awake now, he looked up and saw the black sweeper he had shot almost a year before. The sweeper leaned down and snidely said, "Remember me?"  
  
Methos thought. He counted four other sweepers in the van before he was shot again with the tranquilizer gun.  
  
He woke up as the van drove into a warehouse. He heard big garage doors closing and then the van door was opened from the outside. Four more sweepers dragged a resisting Methos out. They didn't bother being gentle; he was kicked and pushed towards an office area in the center of the warehouse area. A door was opened and he was pushed down a hall with a single door at the end. He fell several times only to be kicked until he got up again. A sweeper opened the door at the end of the hallway and pushed him inside.  
  
He quickly scanned the room as he fell to the floor. He noticed a woman standing a few feet away. She was tied with a rope, her hands suspended over her head. Methos coldly observed that this was the woman that had been chasing Jarod. Miss Parker was what Jarod had called her he remembered. She had been roughed up as well. She had a bloody lip and a black eye. Her hair and clothing were in disarray. She looked exhausted.  
  
Before he could struggle to his feet again, Methos was dragged a few feet away and pushed down again. Seeing that they planned to suspend him by a chain he saw hanging from a beam, he struggled harder. Each of the sweepers took a limb and pinned him down. Methos continued his fruitless struggle against the overwhelming odds. One at a time the sweepers unhooked the handcuffs and put manacles on him. His feet were bound with a two-foot length of chain between them. His arms were pulled up and over his head until he had to stand on his tiptoes.  
  
Taking out a knife, the black Sweeper told the other sweepers to leave him alone with the prisoners. As he stepped towards Jarod's friend, Miss Parker yelled at him. "Leave him alone Willie!"  
  
Willie just sneered at her. "You aren't calling the shots anymore Parker. I owe him a little pain." Willie sneered at the glare the man was giving him. With a cruel smile on his face, Willie slowly cut the man's loose fitting shirt off. When he had the shirt off, he dragged the blade lightly over the man's chest. He reversed the direction of the knife and sliced deeper, drawing blood.  
  
Methos winced and gritted his teeth as the knife cut into his skin. He could feel the blood welling up and running down his stomach. The sweeper must have cut deeply. He could feel his Quickening pulling the muscle and skin back together. Wishing, just this once, that his Quickening had been just a little bit slower. He thought once again.  
  
Willie stared at the light flashing across the man's chest. He sliced the man's chest again. The light reappeared and the wound healed before his eyes. Willie stepped away from the man and stopped at the door. "Mr. Lyle is going to have fun with you." With a laugh, Willie stepped out, the door closing ominously behind him.  
  
Miss Parker stared at the man she'd recognized as the Rancher from Eastern Washington. She'd seen again when Mr. Raines had been killed but that time he'd talked with an English accent. She knew that Sam and Willie had killed this man both times, but here he was alive and well and able to heal knife wounds before her eyes. "Who the hell are you?" She asked with a tremor of fear in her voice.   
  
Methos glared at her. He pulled against the chains but they were too strong. Pulling himself up and over like a gymnast, he braced his feet against the beam and pulled with all his strength. Seeing that the chains were too strong to be pulled apart, he let himself back down. He stood still for a moment to get his breath back. He looked around for anything that he might use to pick the locks. Not seeing anything that would help, he closed his eyes and called up his Quickening. He'd only tried this with ropes and tie-wraps, but he didn't see any other option. Holding the links near his manacles, he fed the Quickening into the chain to try and weaken it. He dropped his weight down so that the chains had some pull on them while he heated them. Within a few minutes he had to stop, the pain was too great. He was burning his hands. He looked at the chains, other than a slight discoloration there was no sign of weakening. He was going to have to do this a lot more times.   
  
Miss Parker watched in fear has his hands glowed. The glow wrapped around the chains. She could see the metal starting to get red with the heat but not before she saw and smelt his hands burning. She grimaced at his self-mutilation.  
  
  
*****  
Methos repeated this several times in as many hours. The chains were weakening but it would be awhile. His hands had just healed and he was holding the chains to work on them again, when they heard footsteps coming their way. He dropped the chain and fisted his hands in preparation for the next 'show and tell' that was sure to come.  
  
A handsome man in an expensive suit walked into the room. He closed the door and turned to the woman. "Hello Sis, long time no see."  
  
Mr. Lyle slowly strutted around his bound sister. "You look terrible, having a rough day?"  
  
"Can it Lyle. What do you want?" She snarled, trying to keep her eyes on him as he walked around her.  
  
"I thought since Jarod and his buddy here destroyed the Centre, I'd just make up my own company. It took me awhile but I found some investors. Now I just need the lab rat. The two of you are bait." Lyle moved to circle Methos. "Willie tells me you do an interesting trick. Two lab rats is good, three is even better. Let's just see this trick of yours."  
  
Stopping in front of Methos, the man pulled a pocketknife out of his suit pocket. Methos glared at him and tensed as the blade came closer. Resisting wasn't going to get him out of here, but it would hopefully, keep the man from doing too much experimenting. Methos thought. In a flash, Methos pulled up with his arms and lifted his legs, kicking the man full on the chest.   
  
The man was slammed across the room and hit the back wall. Rubbing his chest in pain, it took him several moments to get his breath back. He jumped up with an insane anger in his eyes. As Methos pulled up to kick at him again, the man sidestepped and hit him in the ribs, knocking the wind out of him. The man continued beating him until Methos sagged in the chains. Stepping on the chain between his feet, the man hit Methos in the face repeatedly.   
  
Methos glared at the man out of swollen eyes while he struggling to get his breath back. He hurt everywhere from the beating he'd received.   
  
Finally able to control his anger, the man picked up the knife he'd dropped, and stepped on the leg chain again. With a sadistic smile, he pulled the blade sharply across Methos' chest. Methos clenched his jaw and struggled not to cry out as the blade cut deeply. After his Quickening had closed the wound up, the man smiled. "That is a pretty impressive trick."   
  
Lyle stared at the blood running down the prisoner's chest and stomach. This was glorious! He could smell the blood's coppery scent, practically taste it in his mouth. He gave into the temptation and reached up with his hand. He ran his fingers through the blood still covering the newly healed chest. Lyle made a show of licking the blood off his fingers and lips.   
  
Lyle finally heard Miss Parker's shouted obscenities. "Lyle you Bastard, leave him alone!" She was trying to kick at him but found her reach was several feet short.  
  
He glared at his sister. "Shut up, you'll get yours soon enough. Who do you think gets to be the mother of my Pretenders?"  
  
"I'll kill you Lyle with my bare hands, you sick Bastard!" She shouted while yanking on her rope.  
  
Lyle hit her in the stomach and walked to the door. Turning back he said to Methos, "I'll be back, I can see you and I are going to get to know each other very well. Soon I'll have time to see more of you..." Then he was gone, leaving them alone.  
  
Methos allowed himself to sag just a little in the chains. He closed his eyes as he struggled to control his rage, he needed to think and use all of his strength to get out of here. Telling himself that anything else was a waste of energy. He would pay back Mr. Lyle slowly and excruciatingly.  
  
"I'm so sorry, are you alright?" Miss Parker asked the Rancher. She had been sickened by Lyle's sadistic behavior in the past, but this was the first time she had actually had to stand and watch helpless while he abused someone. Lyle had made a point of letting her know that he practiced cannibalism. She didn't even want to think about what that might mean for the two of them.  
  
Having recovered his control and some of his strength, Methos looked back up at the chains and took them in his hands again. He focused all of his energy on weakening the chains with his Quickening, resting just long enough for his hands to heal from the burns.  
  
  
*****  
It was some time before the chains finally pulled open. Methos dropped to his knees and cupped his hands gently. He had held on longer this time when he felt the chains beginning to give. The sweat was rolling off him. He staggered up and took hold of the rope that held Miss Parker's arms up. With a last, painful effort, he pulled his Quickening another time and burned through her ropes.  
  
Miss Parker carefully watched the man in front of her. She knew he was exhausted and nearly drained. His hands were shaking and his body gleamed with sweat. She realized that he could have left her here to her brother's not so tender mercies. Even if he blamed her for Jarod's pursuit and his own deaths, he wasn't leaving her behind. Her respect and obligation to him grew.  
  
She was pulling the ropes from her wrists and rubbing the circulation back when Methos headed for the door. Not wanting to be left behind, she followed. Not seeing anyone, Methos slipped out of the door. His legs were still chained, so he had to hold the chain and shuffle his feet.  
  
They slipped out of the room and down the hallway. Methos headed in the direction he remembered the van being. Miss Parker grabbed his arm and pointed in another direction whispering, "There was a side door over this way."   
  
When it looked like he was going to refuse, Miss Parker said, "That's where they brought me in. We won't have to pass through an open loading dock area."  
  
Methos looked at her and nodded, "if it will get me the hell out of here..."  
  
  
*****  
Joe and Duncan were frustrated at their inability to find out anything. All of the watchers had reported in. Because of the 911 call that Lavon had made, the police had arrived and questioned everyone at the bar. Frustrated, Duncan was ready to tear someone's head off with his bare hands; he hated not being able to do anything. He jumped when Joe's cell phone rang.   
  
Fumbling in his haste, Joe nearly dropped the phone. "Adam?"  
  
"Er, no sorry Joe, It's me Broots. I just got a call from Jarod. He got an email from Mr. Lyle; he's the one that grabbed Adam. He has Miss Parker too. Mr. Lyle says Jarod has to turn himself in or he'll kill them."  
  
"Will he let them go?" Joe asked hopeful.  
  
"Jarod says no. He thinks Willie is with Lyle, and Willie's seen Adam come back from the dead twice now. He'll keep Miss Parker because she carries the Pretender gene. Jarod is on his way here, but it will be a few hours." Joe looked at Duncan with desperation and anguish in his eyes.  
  
Getting off the phone, Joe told Duncan what Broots had told him.  
  
*****  
Methos and Miss Parker slipped out the side door unobserved. Judging by the location of the moon, Methos determined that there were still several hours to dawn. Watching to see that they weren't being followed, they hurried the best they could for several blocks before they found several parked cars. Methos picked out an older car with driver's small, vent windows. Methos popped the small window and unlocked the driver's door. He unlocked the passenger door and leaning down under the dashboard, quickly hot-wired the car. It sputtered to a start.  
  
Methos drove for several hours changing directions many times. He knew where he was and where there was a Watcher safe house. Sure now that they weren't being followed, he headed towards it. Just past six in the morning, he pulled into the Watcher safe house. It was generic rambler located in an older middle-class neighborhood. The Watchers picked their safe houses in areas that used a lot of rental homes. They didn't want the rotation of people staying at the houses to attract attention. There were several of these safe houses in the bigger cities that saw a lot of Immortal traffic. As a former Watcher, Methos knew their locations.  
  
Having noticed a light on in the house as they pulled into the carport, he knocked on the door. Methos was moving on adrenalin and he knew it. He needed a place where he could sleep but he didn't trust his companion. Hopefully he would know the Watcher staying here.  
  
As the door opened, he blocked it with his foot and leaned against the doorframe. He didn't know the man that opened the door by name, but he remembered seeing the face in the Watcher files that he'd memorized.  
  
"You recognize me?" Methos asked.   
  
The Watcher swallowed hard and nodded. Before the Watcher blurted out a name, Methos continued. "I need your help." When the Watcher hesitated Methos growled, "This has nothing to do with the Game."  
  
Finally nodding, the Watcher opened the door wider. Methos pulled Miss Parker in behind him, and taking another look at the street, made sure that all was quiet. Closing the door he said, "she doesn't know anything so watch what you say." At the Watcher's nod he continued. "I need to use your phone." Taking the offered phone, Methos dialed Joe.  
  
"Joe, it's Adam."  
  
"Where the hell are you?" A frantic Joe asked.  
  
"Just listen Joe. I'm at the safe house on Beech. I brought Miss Parker with me. I'm with one of your guys..." Turning to the Watcher he asked for his name. When he got it he turned his attention back to Joe. "I'm with Timothy Wyatt."  
  
"Okay, I'll get Mac and we'll be right over." Joe said.  
  
"There's probably someone watching you. Be careful and assume you're being followed. And Joe, can you bring a change of clothes and my coat?"  
  
Dialing another number, Methos waited several rings until the phone was answered. "Jarod, it's Adam. We're okay. She looks roughed up but otherwise okay. No, I don't have my phone with me, better call Joe or MacLeod. Watch your back." With that Methos finished the call. He handed the phone back to the Watcher.  
  
Walking to Miss Parker he said, "Let me check you out, see if there's anything I can do."   
  
Miss Parker sat down exhausted. "I'm fine."  
  
Ignoring her, he took her wrist and looked at it. "Get me the first aid kit." He said over his shoulder to the Watcher. He took it as it was handed to him. When he was through cleaning her cuts, he gently wrapped her wrists.   
  
Miss Parker watched him intently. His manner was gentle but distant. He'd acted like he didn't like her, but he'd still risked his freedom to save her. His shifting moods and mannerisms confused her. Finished with her wrists, he turned his attention to her black eye. "Did you lose consciousness? Is your head hurting you at all?"  
  
She shook her head no. "An ice pack will help some of the swelling go down." She nodded. The Watcher quickly got one for her. She meekly placed it on her swollen eye but kept her other eye on him. So his real name was Adam, she thought.  
  
Tim Wyatt had the surprise of his life when he opened the safe house door and stared into the ageless eyes of the world's oldest Immortal, half dressed and wearing chains and manacles. He had what looked like blood on his clothes and skin. Tim swallowed nervously. He was a fairly new Watcher. He didn't even have his own assignment. He acted as the back up for a fairly new Immortal, Ken Denning. Ken had only been Immortal for forty years, an Engineer for the Department of Transportation; you couldn't get any more boring than that! Ken only had a Watcher assigned to him because he was steady and stayed in one place, a good beginner's assignment. Tim was unprepared when the oldest Immortal wanted his help!  
  
Putting the first aid kit aside, Methos stood and stretched. He was so tired but he didn't feel safe sleeping until Joe and Mac arrived. Walking into the kitchen he searched the drawers for something to unlock his chains. Within a few minutes he was dropping the discarded chains into the trash. Feeling better, he opened the refrigerator. Not seeing any beer he glared at the Watcher. "What kind of a safe house is this?"  
  
Taking pity on the nervous Watcher, Methos wandered back into the living room. Sprawling on the couch he said, "Who's your assignment?" Hoping the conversation would help him stay awake.  
  
"Ken Denning." Tim stuttered out, realizing too late that maybe that was against the rules.  
  
Seeing the young mans distress, Methos chuckled. "Nice guy. I met him a few years ago. He thought I was a newbie. He even offered to train me."  
  
Tim looked shocked. That wasn't in Ken Denning's chronicle!  
  
Methos laughed. He watched as Miss Parker moved to a chair closer to him. "You look like hell." She said.  
  
"I feel like hell. I could sleep for a week." He mumbled.  
  
"What the hell are you?"  
  
"You don't really expect me to answer that do you? You killed me, twice!" His stare and raised eyebrow dared her to deny it.  
  
"Well, maybe I had something to do with it..." She left off when she saw the look in his face.   
  
The Watcher spoke up, "She killed you? What's going on? Should I keep her covered?" Pulling out a gun he pointed it at Miss Parker.  
  
"She's a security risk and probably better with that gun than you are." Methos told the Watcher.  
  
The Watcher nodded nervously. "She's right though, you do look like hell."  
  
"It's been a rough night." He said sarcastically.  
  
"It's an honor to get to meet you in person." Tim said.  
  
Methos stared at the young Watcher; maybe he could get a little sleep. He could hardly hold his eyes open anymore. "I'm just a guy. Thanks for your help. Make sure she stays put, I'm going to get some sleep."  
  
Miss Parker didn't know what to think. This kid was 'honored' to meet this Adam guy? Made it sound like he was a celebrity. And what was this talk about assignments? What kind of loyalty did Adam invoke to have a stranger let him into his house, and pull a gun on her at the mere suggestion that Adam might be in danger?  
  
When she thought Adam was asleep, Miss Parker started questioning the young man. Putting on a friendly face she asked, "What is he? How can he come back from the dead and heal so quickly?"  
  
Feeling quite mysterious and full of himself, Tim just said, "You heard him, he's just a guy."  
  
Miss Parker asked several more questions before realizing that the kid wasn't going to answer. They heard a car pull up in the driveway followed by an insistent knock.  
  
Feeling an Immortal buzz, Methos sprang to his feet, a kitchen knife suddenly appearing in his hand. Disoriented, it took him a second to realize it was Mac's. Sitting back down he told Tim, "It's okay, its Joe."  
  
Tim opened the door and was practically bowled over by MacLeod rushing in. Joe followed more slowly carrying Methos' clothes and long coat. Duncan assessed the room at a glance and crossed over to where Methos sat rubbing his face. "You look like hell!"  
  
"So everyone keeps telling me." Methos grumped.  
  
Tim closed the door and followed Joe into the room. Careful to use Methos' alias Joe asked, "What's going on Adam?"  
  
Methos took his coat from Joe and felt a little less vulnerable when he felt the comforting weight of his sword. "Centre Sweepers. Lyle's out of prison and looking for some lab rats."  
  
"You?" Joe asked, very afraid that he already knew the answer.  
  
Methos nodded. "And Jarod and her." He said indicating Miss Parker. "He tried a little torture and liked what he saw."  
  
"He saw you heal." Joe stated with a sinking feeling.  
  
"It was really hard for him to miss, with all the blood and stuff." Methos said irritated. "One of the sweepers saw it too."  
  
"Willie." Miss Parker supplied. "The sweeper's name was Willie. He was there a year ago when Mr. Raines died."  
  
"Well let's get you out of here." Joe started.  
  
"I can't go home. They'll look for me there. If they knew where the bar is, they probably know where I live, along with you and Mac. You shouldn't go back either." When Joe opened his mouth to protest Methos added, "Jarod was going to get Broots started on Lyle's trail and then fly here."  
  
"Broots? My Broots?" Miss Parker asked. She had wondered where Broots had disappeared. Jarod must have helped him hide with his friends. Joe glared at her knowing what she was capable of.  
  
Finishing his earlier conversation Methos said, "We're safer right here if Tim doesn't mind sharing?"  
  
Tim eagerly nodded. This was great! He was going to be sharing a house with Methos and Duncan MacLeod! Would he have something to tell Daniel! Daniel was Ken Denning's regular Watcher, but had wanted the week off because Watching Ken Denning was boring. Was he ever going to be sorry he'd missed this!  
  
"How many bedrooms does this place have?" Duncan asked.  
  
"Three and a hide-a-bed couch." Tim responded.  
  
"Tim and I will go and get some groceries. You guys just stay low. Any requests?"  
  
"Beer!" Methos spoke up.  
  
"I knew that without asking."  
  
They sorted out the sleeping arrangements. Miss Parker took the smaller of the bedrooms and was already asleep. Duncan took a lookout position near the front window. Picking up the clothes that Joe had brought, Methos headed for the shower. Turning at the door he asked, "Mac, could you let Lisa know I'm okay?" Duncan nodded.  
  
  
*****  
When Methos closed the bathroom door behind him, Duncan pulled out his cell phone and called Lisa Weiss.  
  
"Hello Lisa, this is Duncan MacLeod."  
  
"Have you heard anything more?" She asked with fear in her voice.  
  
"He's safe. They were using a tranquilizer gun. He showed up at a friend's house a little while ago. It was a botched kidnapping."  
  
"Is he okay? Can I talk to him?" Lisa pleaded.  
  
"He's sleeping. He could barely keep his eyes open. I'll have him call you when he wakes up. He just wanted you to know that he was okay." Duncan said gently.  
  
"Thank you so much. Tell him I'll be waiting for his call then." Lisa said weeping with relief.  
  
  
*****  
When she woke up, Miss Parker thought about what had happened. She'd been terrified when Lyle's goons had grabbed her from her home in Delaware and smuggled her here. She hadn't been a prisoner long when they'd dragged in the Rancher. She hadn't even seen Lyle until he showed up to torture Adam. She knew Lyle was insane but it was still disturbing to see just how disturbed he was.   
  
She thought about Adam. That man was an enigma. He growled at her most of the time but he'd saved her, led her to safety and even treated her wounds. She'd seen how these people treated him. They'd been very worried about his kidnapping and relieved at his escape. The dumb kid even acted like he was a celebrity, opening the door for them, and he hadn't even met the guy!  
  
Adam was still sleeping, late the next day when Miss Parker left her room. Several hours later she was still waiting. She didn't like waiting and she had some questions she wanted to ask him. The good-looking man, Duncan had taken the stolen get away car and gotten rid of it. Joe the older man with the cane said something about going into the office to start the wheels turning or something like that. The kid, Tim was watching TV. Thinking that this was her chance, Miss Parker headed towards her room and paused by the room where Adam was sleeping. Standing outside his door she heard noises. He was having a nightmare.   
  
Methos stood in the desert, the hot winds burning his skin like sandpaper. He saw clouds gathering in the sky, lightning bolts flickering through the clouds. He felt a presence and turned to see Darius. "Where am I?"   
  
Gesturing around him Darius said with a smile, "This is the end of the world, what's it feel like to be the One, to be alone?"   
  
Afraid, Methos turned and ran. The desert never changed despite how far or fast he ran. Darius would always appear in front of him as soon as he tired and stopped. Always asking the same question, "What's it feel like to be alone?"  
  
He felt a presence enter the room, waking him from the dream. The intruder wasn't Immortal, but he'd had enough of Mortals sneaking around him. In a flash Methos sprang to his feet, drawing his sword from the bed coverings as he leaped at the intruder.  
  
Miss Parker froze against the wall, his sword at her neck. Her eyes were wide in terror. "What are you doing in here?" He snarled.  
  
"You were having a nightmare..." she stammered.  
  
He lowered the sword and stepped back out of her reach. "All the more reason to stay out." He growled. Wearing only his boxers, his skin shined with a layer of sweat.   
  
She swallowed nervously as he stepped away from her. She couldn't stop herself from looking him over closely. This man may not have the brawny physic that Jarod or his friend Duncan had, but he was definitely a dangerous man. His muscles were well developed and defined, rippling as he moved. There was no evidence of fat anywhere that she could see. He'd been prone on the bed when she walked into the room, and up and holding a sword at her throat in an instant. She hadn't had any time to react.  
  
Trying to regain her composure she said, "You sleep with a sword?"  
  
"You're lucky I didn't grab the gun or the dagger, those I might have used first before checking on my intruder." He grabbed a tee shirt that had been thrown into a nearby chair. He slipped it on after setting his sword on the bed within easy reach. He sat on the bed and looked at her. "Well?"  
  
"Well what?" She asked confused.  
  
"Why are you still here?" He said his face now blank of all emotions.  
  
"Oh!" Thinking that his nightmare was the result of the torture and abuse he'd received from Lyle she said, "I wanted you to know that I feel sick about what Lyle did."   
  
Methos stared at her long and hard, assessing her. "I've lived through worse, but I'm still going to kill him."  
  
"If I don't get to him first." Miss Parker swore.  
  
Methos felt Duncan's buzz. Picking up his sword again, he stood and opened the bedroom door wide. Gesturing that she should precede him out, he followed her down the hall.   
  
Duncan and Tim looked up when Miss Parker entered the living room, nervously looking behind her. She was followed by an irritated, ancient Immortal, dressed only in his boxer shorts, a wrinkled tee shirt, and carrying his sword. Duncan moved his hand to a position where he could quickly grab his katana. "What is it?"  
  
"Oh nothing. I just thought since I'd nearly taken the head of our 'guest' for sneaking into my room, I would mention that I sleep with a sword, among other things." Casually and gently he slid the sword blade over a couch pillow. The 'guests' watching in fascination as the pillow split open like an overripe grape. "A very sharp sword."  
  
Miss Parker gulped. That blade had been against her neck. Reaching up, she checked for blood. Pulling her hand away she saw nothing. Even half asleep he must have tremendous control. She gulped again.  
  
Seeing her reaction, Methos grinned wickedly. Tim smiled amazed. Then swallowed when he realized that he hadn't realized that she'd gone into Methos' room. Before Tim's mind could take responsibility for her sneaking into his room, Methos said, "I can take care of myself."  
  
Duncan nodded, reminding himself that this was true. The previous day had certainly proven that. While Methos slept, Miss Parker had told them what had happened at the warehouse.  
  
Changing the subject, Methos asked Duncan, "Anything from Broots?"  
  
"They've left the warehouse where they were holding you. He's hunting down who might own it, or be leasing it."   
  
Methos nodded. "And Joe?"  
  
"He's with the Tribunal. He needs their agreement to respond to our being compromised."   
  
Methos shrugged. "He won't get it. The only thing they've ever been able to agree on was a death order for you and keeping my location a secret, and you know how well those turned out."  
  
Tim dropped his jaw at the blatant insult (although true!) to the Watchers. "But you were one of us..."  
  
"I created you, and look where that's gotten me!" Methos said flippantly. Tim thought about that.  
  
Methos shouldered his sword. "Well if we still don't know anything, I'm going back to sleep. Oh. And the next person that accidentally wanders in, might find themselves shorter by a head." He warned with a glare.   
  
Duncan rolled his eyes.  
  
Miss Parker rubbed her throat. Death orders? Secrets? This was sounding more and more like the Centre every second!  
  
Tim Wyatt grinned thinking,   
  
Methos slept for the rest of the day but he kept waking as he felt Duncan moving in and out of his buzz range. Mumbling under his breath he griped, "Another reason why I would never marry an Immortal!"  
  
That evening he heard Jarod arrive. He sat up and put his feet on the floor. He rubbed his face and looked at the door as he heard a soft knock. Jarod opened the door slowly and didn't enter until he saw that Methos was awake. "I like my head where it is..." He sat down next to Methos and continued, "I hear you've finally met Lyle."  
  
Methos chuckled. "We were never formally introduced but he made sure I'd remember him. Do you have any leads?"  
  
Jarod nodded. "Broots was able to find the business front for Lyle's investors. He's already started to funnel off funds. We can't find Lyle though."  
  
"What about the van?" Jarod shook his head. Methos was silent for a moment while he reviewed his options.   
  
One, he could run. His favorite choice and the least painful, but that would put the others in danger of being grabbed as hostages. Damn! He was becoming more like MacLeod every day he hung around that Boy Scout!  
  
Two, they could call the Police. Duncan said that Lisa and Lavon had reported his kidnapping. He'd involved the police when he wanted Kalas sent to prison. But without a lead on Lyle's location, the police wouldn't be able to do anything either. That would mean that he couldn't go back to his life or it would still endanger his friends.  
  
Third, they could set a trap for Lyle and his goons but who would be the bait? It would have to be someone that he wanted. Jarod would be the highest on Lyle's 'wish' list because of their past history. But Jarod was the most likely to be permanently injured or killed. Methos certainly didn't want anything to happen to Jarod! I'm probably the second on the 'wish' list after being so entertaining to Lyle. Although I really don't like the idea of being tortured! Even if I don't die from it, it hurts like hell! But I've had more experience with the cloak and dagger stuff than Jarod, by several thousand years. And Jarod operated to a code of honor like the Boy Scout, MacLeod. Miss Parker was probably the third on the 'wish' list, but he didn't think she could handle Lyle and still come out reasonably sane. MacLeod will offer himself as bait but I don't want Lyle to know there are other Immortals. That could spark a witch-hunt that would destroy us all. I've invested too much energy into the youngling to allow him to be killed. It would be much better if Lyle and his sweeper think that I'm the only one.  
  
Fourth, fourth...there must be a fourth option! I don't want to be the bait! Damn!  
  
Methos stood up and slipped on his pants and tee shirt. "I have a plan..."  
  
  
*****  
Methos' plan didn't go over very well with his friends. They argued that Lyle was insane, that they should just stay put and let Broots keep looking and something would come up. Miss Parker kept quiet and watched Jarod with his friends. He really cared about all of them. They cared about him, Adam enough that he was willing to offer himself up as bait for Lyle.   
  
Methos argued the reasons why they couldn't wait. He sounded more convincing than he felt inside, but he just couldn't see any way around it. Waiting would force Lyle to find different hostages. Lyle had grabbed him at the bar and would probably go back there hoping that someone they cared about would be there. Waiting would only allow Lyle to get the upper hand.  
  
They argued for nearly an hour until they had to concede that Adam was right. They couldn't come up with anything better. After they had given in, they spent the rest of the evening working out the details of the plan. They would hide themselves around Adam's house. They believed that Lyle would have sweepers watching it. Adam would pretend that he was grabbing clothes and getting ready to skip town. They would watch, and when Lyle's men grabbed Adam, follow him to the hideout. When they were sure that they had Lyle and Willie (the two that knew about Immortals even if they didn't know what Methos was), they would storm the place; capture the thugs and free Adam.  
  
Jarod stopped his car a couple of blocks from Methos' house. Jarod had come up with some high-tech communication toys for them to use. Methos was wearing an earplug and had a small microphone on his collar, a tracking device in his shoe. The others were wearing low profile headsets. Jarod had even managed to get some infrared binoculars for them to use. MacLeod had gone ahead and was scouting out the locations of the sweepers. As he called the locations in, Jarod marked it on a map. It was just going to be the few of them against the sweepers. Their main job was to keep track of Methos. Joe, Broots and Miss Parker were waiting to follow the target vehicle. MacLeod and Tim were watching the house to see how they took Methos away. Jarod was going to follow as the backup tail.  
  
While they waited for everyone to get into their places, Jarod looked at Methos and said, "I don't like this plan Adam. Lyle will torture you, I know what he's capable of once he gets his hands on you."  
  
Methos nodded. "I know. Believe me, I don't want his hands anywhere near me. You'll just have to make sure you don't lose him, and spring me faster than he can find the time to experiment.  
  
When everyone was in their place, Methos got out of the car. "Show time everyone."   
  
Methos was at the back door of his house in just a few minutes. As he slipped towards the back door, he visually confirmed the sweeper locations that Duncan had reported. At the door he noticed a sensor button. He whispered into his Mic, "As soon as I open the door it will trigger a sensor. Keep your heads down and eyes open. As soon as they come in the house I'm going to dump the microphone so they don't suspect a trap." Slowly he opened the door and looked around. They must be feeling confidant he thought snidely, no one was inside and there were no more sensors. He slipped up to his room and grabbed a backpack. Stuffing a few clothes into it to make it look real, he stalled waiting for someone to arrive. He kept moving like he was really packing.  
  
MacLeod spoke first. "There's a van slowly coming down the street. There's a sweeper on either side of the house now. It looks like they're going to each take a door. They have guns out."  
  
Methos grabbed the backpack and started down the stairs. "I'm on my way down now, I'll let them get me in the living room." He slipped off the microphone and earplug and slipped them into his backpack. The others would be able to hear what was going on but the sweepers wouldn't find them on him. He knew they wouldn't bother with the backpack.  
  
He heard the doors open one after the other. They were being very quiet but he'd spent too many centuries at this game to miss their noise. He made sure he made enough noise while coming down the stairs. At the bottom, he set down the backpack and moved towards the hall closet. It was the obvious place where both sweepers could grab him. One of the sweepers grabbed his arms while the other shot him several times with a tranquilizer gun. He struggled until his body refused to move. He was bound with cable ties and dragged out the front door. Roughly pushed into a dark van, they sped off.  
  
In his car, Jarod started everyone moving. "Okay, they've put him in a dark Chevy panel van with no plates. They will be passing you Joe in just a few seconds. Every one else head for your rides."  
  
"I got 'em!" Joe said. "We're headed west on 132nd, the freeway is just a few blocks away." Jarod followed the van with his lights off.  
  
"We've turned left onto 126th, looks like they are taking the freeway." Joe said. This went on for over half an hour. Broots picked up for Joe on the freeway, Joe and Miss Parker took the next exit off and used the side roads to meet up again. Miss Parker picked them up and Broots dropped back. Miss Parker kept going when they pulled into a Business Park. Jarod kept track of them with the tracking device.  
  
"Okay everyone, they've stopped at the warehouse on 35th and 115th. Start heading this way. We'll meet one block south of there and walk in. I'm going to walk to the warehouse to make sure they don't get in another vehicle."  
  
  
*****  
Methos woke up from the drugs once on the way to the warehouse. He'd quickly been drugged again. He was still groggy when he was dragged out of the van and across an empty warehouse. They took him into an unfinished office area where he was chained spread eagle on the floor. He noticed unhappily that the posts were bolted into the concrete, no kicking Lyle this time. He recognized Lyle and Willie standing nearby. At least they were both here, that would mean his rescue party could come right in.  
  
The sweepers left the office area but Lyle and Willie remained. They spoke quietly for a few moments before Willie checked to see that Methos was tied securely, and then he left. Lyle circled Methos with a devious smile on his face.  
  
"I'm guessing you'll be shaking off that drug pretty quick. I don't know how you got free last time but I won't be leaving you alone this time. Willie is going to send Jarod a little email so hopefully you'll have some company soon. Jarod was really good about resisting my conditioning, but I'm looking forward to finding out what your tolerance level is. There was always the chance that I could kill Jarod. So I had to go easy on him. You on the other hand, don't seem to have that flaw. We're going to invent a whole new way to define pain."  
  
Vaguely feeling Duncan's Quickening Methos sarcastically said, "You could just ask, I promise I'd tell you if it would hurt."  
  
Lyle just smiled at him. Getting a knife from a counter top he turned back towards the man chained on the floor.  
  
*****  
Outside, Duncan had been anxiously shifting in his position. "What's taking them so long? I can't stand this not doing anything!"  
  
Leaning against the wall Joe said, "We have to let everyone get into position. We can't take the chance that they have another way out."  
  
"I can feel him inside and something's not right. He's in pain!"  
  
"You can feel that?" Joe asked worried.  
  
Duncan nodded. "His Quickening is flickering like he's dying slowly." Abruptly the Quickening disappeared. "It's gone! I'm going in!"  
  
Joe grabbed Duncan's arm. "Wait just a few minutes more, please Mac!"  
  
Duncan stayed but his eyes never left the warehouse. Several long minutes later the weak sense of Methos Quickening came back. Before he could say anything the radio came alive with people reporting they were in their positions. Joe nodded and headed for the car. He was going to be the back up in case they tried to leave in a vehicle. Duncan quickly headed for the front door, drawing a gun as he went.   
  
*****  
As Duncan took out two sweepers in the front door area, he felt Methos' Quickening flickering again. Duncan growled into his headset, "Someone find Adam now!"  
  
  
*****  
Lyle was grinning insanely as he sliced deeply into Methos' abdomen. Methos groaned as the knife sliced into his internal organs. His throat was raw from screaming, his arms and legs bleeding profusely from his struggles. The floor was saturated from the earlier wounds that he had bled to death from. Lyle had gleefully timed his slow death and revival time. Lyle had started out by cutting off Methos' shirt and blue jeans, slicing him deeply and watching him heal. Lyle had Methos' blood all over him as he hit arteries in his insane torture.  
  
  
****  
Tim had gone in one of the side doors. The sweeper guarding this door had been looking towards the front of the warehouse, where there was sounds of fighting. Tim easily snuck up behind him and knocked him out. Stuffing a rag into the sweepers mouth and tying him up with cable ties, he headed into the center office area. As he moved towards it, he noticed a light shining under a door. More scared than he'd ever been, he slowly opened the door.  
  
Tim opened the door to see a man carving into a weakly struggling Methos. "No!" Tim shouted, rushing into the room with his gun pointed at the man with the knife. The man jumped to his feet and pulled back his arm to throw the knife. Without a thought to what he was doing, Tim fired the gun at the man and kept firing until the clip was empty and man fell backwards. Tim hurried over and checked the man, seeing that he was very dead. Shaking in shock, he turned towards a now still Methos. What he saw made him turn aside, drop to his hands and knees and throw up.   
  
Jarod came running into the room immediately followed by Duncan.   
  
"Adam..." Jarod said, "I'm so sorry."   
  
Duncan hurried to the still form and checked him. "Get me the keys!"  
  
Jarod knelt by Lyle's body and searched his pockets for the keys. Finding them, he hurried to Methos' body and quickly unlocked the chains. Tim finally stood and went to a nearby sink to wash his face. Looking back at the still Immortal, he wanted to do something, anything to make it up to him for not coming sooner. Looking around gave him an idea; he grabbed a handful of paper towels and wetted them. Taking a deep breath, he turned and went to the body of the ancient Immortal. Kneeling, he gently wiped the blood from the pale and still face. As they waited for the Quickening to repair the damage to the dead Immortal, Miss Parker and Broots joined them.  
  
"Oh God! What did Lyle do?" Miss Parker gasped.  
  
"He'll be okay won't he Duncan?" Broots stammered. He hadn't seen an Immortal revive yet. Tim looked at Duncan anxious for the answer; he'd never seen an Immortal revive either.  
  
Duncan nodded. Methos' Quickening was still sparking across the wounds. They must have been very deep and the damage severe to have it take this long to revive him.   
  
As one, the room released a sigh of relief when Methos finally gasped his first breath. In a flash, he was pushing himself away from the blurred shadows he saw leaning over him. He hit the back wall before he recognized Duncan's voice. Blinking several times, his vision slowly returned. He looked around the room and saw his rescue squad. With a sigh of relief he put his forehead on his drawn up knees and closed his eyes. He concentrated, trying to get his heart rate back to normal. That had been a torture session worthy of Caspian!  
  
To give Methos the time to pull himself together, Jarod called the group's attention to himself. "Are all the sweepers accounted for?"  
  
"I got one." Tim offered.  
  
"We got three." Miss Parker said nodding at Broots.  
  
"Six." Duncan said darkly.  
  
"And the three I got. Let's get them all into one spot and call the police." Hearing the frantic calls on the headset he finally responded to Joe's questions.  
  
"We're in and everyone's okay. We'll be out in a ten minutes. Why don't you drive up to the front and wait for us."  
  
Shakily Methos stood and seeing the sink, walked over to it. Sticking his head under the sink he turned on the water and attempted to clean himself off.   
  
Seeing a workman's coverall hanging with some hardhats nearby, Tim went and grabbed it, offering it to the still bloody immortal. Methos nodded his thanks to Tim and with his back to Miss Parker, stripped out of his blood soaked boxers. He quickly stepped into the coveralls and turned around after he had zipped it up. Seeing his shoes and socks tossed into a corner, he walked over and sat down while he put them on.  
  
"The sweepers..." Jarod reminded them when he noticed that everyone was frozen in place watching the Immortal. The room quickly emptied when they realized what they had been doing. When the others had left the room, Jarod put his hand on Methos shoulder. "Are you okay?" He asked in his best Sean Burns manner. He didn't want the Immortal to close up on him and he was concerned at Methos' continued silence. He'd been through so much in the past year Jarod thought sadly.  
  
Not meeting Jarod's eyes Methos said with a forced casualness, "Lyle could have given Caspian a real run for his money in the torture department."  
  
"Methos?" Jarod asked quietly wanting to hear more.  
  
"I'll be okay. I need to get the hell out of here." Methos said and led the way out of the room. Mentally berating himself for his stupidity. He should have made sure that the kid was stationed outside the building. Before dying, he'd seen the horror on the kid's face. The kid had never killed anyone before, probably never even fired that gun. He added another regret to his already too long list.  
  
By the time they'd reached the main doors, there were eleven sweepers tied up in a row. "There were two casualties." Duncan said coldly.   
  
"Willie and one of the other Sweepers." Miss Parker volunteered. Jarod nodded looking sad.  
  
"Everyone out to the cars. Duncan and I will leave the evidence for the police. We'll met you at the safe house in an hour or so."  
  
When the building emptied, Jarod and Duncan got to work.  
  
Broots and Miss Parker drove their cars back the safe house. Tim had ridden with Duncan to the warehouse since they'd been away from their cars when Methos had been grabbed. Joe was taking both Tim and Methos back.  
  
Methos sat silently in the passenger seat of Joe's car and stared out the window. Joe could see that he wasn't ready to answer any questions. Tim was sitting quietly behind Joe, sneaking looks at Methos. At the Watcher academy, the other students told him that Immortals didn't feel a death unless it was a beheading. After seeing what he'd just seen, there was no way he would ever believe that! His admiration for Immortals went up if they could spend hundreds (and in Methos' case thousands!) of years facing death like that and not going crazy. He was definitely going to correct the thinking of his fellow Watchers in regards to Immortal deaths!  
  
Quietly Methos spoke, "Thank you Tim. I'm sorry it had to be you." He turned and looked back at the young Watcher, "I haven't been so glad to see a friendly face in centuries."  
  
Tim nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't get there sooner."  
  
"You were there when it counted. Thank you." Methos turned back and faced out the window again.   
  
Joe looked at Tim in surprise. What had happened in there?  
  
  
*****  
After they arrived at the safe house Methos ignored everyone and went to take a shower. Joe took Tim aside and dragged the story out of him.  
  
Still seeing the image of Adam's cut and bleeding body, Miss Parker sat in the living room with Broots. She'd missed the mousy geek and his daughter Debbie. She'd been worried that they'd been caught in the political crossfire when the Centre had been shut down. She felt very guilty for not having put in the effort to find out for sure. Sydney had probably known where they had disappeared.  
  
Trying to offset her feelings of guilt she said, "You're looking good Broots, being away from the Centre must be agree with you."  
  
"It does. I'm doing the most fascinating research... oh, that's secret. Well, I've met a wonderful woman that I'm probably going to ask to marry me. She has a daughter that's Debbie's age. Adam is teaching them to ride horses."  
  
Adam again, she needed to know more about him, to keep Broots talking she said, "I'm happy for you. There should be a happy ending somewhere in this mess."  
  
"What about you Miss Parker? What are you going to do now?" Broots asked wanting to get the conversation away from what he was doing now. He had no intention of betraying his Watcher Oath or the secret of Immortals, especially Methos and Duncan!  
  
"I was just hiding from the world." With a snort she continued, "I wasn't even being clever at hiding, I was at my house in Delaware when Lyle's goons found me. I just wanted to get away from the Centre, I hadn't thought any further than that. Everything I'd ever known had just fallen down around my head. I guess it's true that you can't run from your troubles, they just come to you." Blanking her expression she continued. "What is it with Adam? How can he do the things he does?"  
  
"He's ... um, it's none of your business. I'm not going to tell you anything." Broots said squaring his shoulders, feeling braver and stronger than he'd ever felt around her. As Broots stood up, the object of their discussion walked into the kitchen and grabbed a beer. Broots quickly went looking for Joe.   
  
Dressed in fresh jeans and a tee shirt, looking like he'd done nothing more strenuous than brushing his teeth all day, Methos sprawled his lanky body on the couch. Looking over at Miss Parker he said in a voice as cold as death, "When are you going to mind your own business?"  
  
Taken back, and just a little bit scared she said arrogantly, "I think this is my business. I was as much a prisoner as you. I didn't like what Lyle did to you but that wasn't my fault. I've seen some strange things since I met you, I want answers to my questions damn it!"  
  
"You haven't earned the right to answers. I know what you did to Jarod, in my eyes you're only slightly less a monster than your brother. If Jarod weren't such a Boy Scout I'd have killed you already. My life is none of your damn business until I tell you it is."   
  
He never raised his voice but his eyes froze her soul. Terrified, Miss Parker hurried to her room. After she shut the door, she leaned against it and closed her eyes. He was right. But growing up at the Centre had instilled a survival instinct in her to gather information. This mild looking, dangerous, force of nature, intrigued her. She sat on the bed and tried to come up with an apology to give him later that wouldn't sound as stupid as she felt.  
  
Methos was still sprawled on the couch with his beer when Jarod and Duncan returned. Joe, Broots and Tim quickly joined them. Jarod and Duncan had stayed behind to plant evidence at the warehouse. Duncan chuckling at the skill and ease in which Jarod had set up a 'drug lab' and staged an accident, which had incapacitated the sweepers. They'd made it appear as if the killings were drug related. The Sweepers had been drugged and untied, with enough evidence to have them all sent to prison for a very long time. After making an anonymous call to the police, they'd watched from a safe distance until they arrived.   
  
During the conversation, Miss Parker had slipped out of her room and was listening. Breathing a sigh of relief she felt some of her fears dissolving. Lyle was dead and his sweepers and dreams of recreating the Centre were gone. Replacing that, another fear began to creep into her thoughts, what was she going to do with her life now?  
  
As the others talked, Jarod cornered Methos and took him into the bedroom to talk. Jarod wanted to make sure that Methos was letting go of the events of the past few days. His abduction hadn't been the same as being the target of Immortal headhunters, but Jarod wanted to make sure it was over. After talking with the irritated Immortal for over an hour, they left the room. Methos grabbed a beer and sprawled on the couch sulking over the inquisition, while Joe and Duncan eagerly tried to catch Jarod's eye. Seeing their concern, Jarod nodded and gave them a 'thumbs up'. Methos had been worried about Tim's part in all this. Jarod had already spoken with Tim, who was handling it well despite his inexperience. He was even turning his horror in a positive direction, vowing that he would straighten out the misconceptions about Immortal deaths he'd gotten at the Watcher Academy.  
  
Joe and Duncan felt a tremendous weight lift from their shoulders. The old man had shown again that he was tougher than he looked. Joe shook his head in amazement. He didn't think there was anything in the world that could keep Methos down for long!  
  
  
*****  
The next morning was more upbeat than the last few days had been. Methos handed Joe's cell phone back to him. They were alone in the kitchen and Methos had just gotten off the phone with Lisa. She'd been so relieved to hear his voice. With a promise to see her later in the week, Methos had ended the call.  
  
Joe cleared his throat and said, "You know you were pretty lucky that Lisa was looking in her mirror that night you were grabbed don't you? We never would have known what happened to you."  
  
"I'm sorry she had to see that. It's tough on my 'mild mannered Adam Pierson' persona to have people coming after me all the time." Methos said his eyes narrowing. What had made Joe bring that up? Not the damn Watcher thing again! Methos inwardly groaned.  
  
This was not going as he'd planned. Joe thought. He was hoping to get Methos to agree to a Watcher. He tried again, "I was worried sick."  
  
Methos looked at Joe. Joe did look like he'd been through hell in the last few days. It would make Joe feel better and worry less if they went through the charade of assigning him a Watcher. He knew who Joe had in mind and knew that he could lose him at any time. He'd planned on sticking around town for a while and this way, he could show the kid that Immortals weren't all blood and sword fights. Who better to show him how boring Immortals were than himself? Not willing to give in too easily, Methos scowled and said, "Not this again! I don't want my chronicle on the Watcher database!"  
  
Methos smiled to himself when Joe took the bait and countered, "It won't be in the database, they'll keep a hardcopy chronicle."  
  
"I don't want a peeping Tom, if I feel like I'm being spied on - I'm out of here!" He growled still trying to look angry. "And I'm going to talk with them if I want." He added petulantly for good measure. This was actually amusing!  
  
"As long as you don't try to get them to use the Watcher database as your personal Rolodex." Joe grumbled.  
  
"And I get to pick my Watcher." Methos said crossing his arms and leaning casually against the refrigerator. When Joe looked like he was about to object, Methos quit teasing. "I'll take the kid, he's not so bad - for a Watcher!" Joe finally noticed the amused twinkle in Methos' eyes.  
  
Lightly tapping Methos on the toe with his cane Joe growled, "Fine, then you tell him. I'll be lucky if the poor kid doesn't resign and leave the state!" He walked out of the kitchen followed by Methos' laughter. Joe grinned having gotten what he wanted, and with less resistance than he expected.  
  
Later, Joe chuckled as he heard Duncan and Methos arguing in the bedroom over the other's taste in music. It was music to Joe's ears. His 'family' was back together again.  
  
Jarod, Miss Parker and Broots had left early that morning. After he had spoken to Methos the night before, Jarod had taken Miss Parker aside for a talk. They'd talked late into the night but Joe was not surprised that Jarod wasn't willing to relax his firm stance with the beautiful but chilling Miss Parker. He was dropping her off at the airport for a flight to Delaware, where Sydney would meet her. She needed to get her life in order Joe thought sadly. Maybe Jarod would wait, maybe not.   
  
Joe could hear the Immortals still arguing in the back bedroom when the front door opened. Daniel, Ken Denning's regular Watcher, stepped into the door his face filled with surprise when he saw his boss sitting in the living room.   
  
"Mr. Dawson. What's going on? Is Ken alright?" He glared at Tim this must be his fault!  
  
"Hello Daniel. Ken's fine. We had to use the safe house for a few days."  
  
Carrying their few personal items, Duncan and Methos continued their argument as they walked into the living room. Spotting the new arrival first, Methos eyed the Watcher and scowled the minute he saw recognition in his eyes. His picture was just too widely distributed within the Watcher's!  
  
Daniel's jaw dropped when he recognized the two men that walked into the room. He instantly recognized Methos and the Highlander's accent was unmistakable! What were these two Immortals doing here?  
  
Standing up, Joe said to his Immortals, "Are you two ready to quit arguing and get out of here?"  
  
Duncan was the first out the door, "I'm driving!"  
  
Joe just shook his head and looked at Methos. Methos smiled and paused at the door, "Well, are you coming Tim?"  
  
"Huh?" Tim asked. Seeing the look on Daniel's face, he'd been dreading the inquisition he was going to get when the others left.  
  
With a grin Methos said, "Are you coming? I don't want to lose my Watcher on his very first day."  
  
"Your Watcher? Me?" Tim said in shock.  
  
Joe spoke up, "That is unless you'd rather be assigned an Immortal in another state after hanging out with this guy for the last few days ..."  
  
"Hell no! I mean, yes I'll be his Watcher!" Tim stood up afraid that they were only teasing him.  
  
"Then come on." As they walked out the door Joe continued for Methos' benefit, "Now you can't put anything in the database or on the bulletin board, you'll have to do it the old fashioned way, in a Chronicle..."  
  
Rolling his eyes, Methos mumbled, "What did I get myself into?"  
  
Daniel just stood there in shock. Tim was going to Watch Methos, the oldest Immortal? Tim was just a rookie Watcher, a substitute at that! What the hell had happened while he was gone? His Immortal's life was never this exciting.  
  
The End  
Some mushy romance coming with another Highlander/Relic Hunter crossover...  
What did I get myself into?  
  
Highlander Fan Fiction by Wajag9/5/200226 of 26 


End file.
